Meatless Monday: Crustless rainbow chard quiche

December 7th, 2009

quiche

Yesterday, I braved the Hollywood Farmers Market for a little video blog shooting. I made time for some shopping, of course, and scored a few heads of the most magnificent rainbow chard I’ve ever seen for about $1 a piece. That’s one of the advantages of hitting the booths toward the end of the market day — you may not have the largest selection, but what’s left over can usually be had for a relative bargain.

Determined not to let the chard die a wilty death in my crisper bin (which seems to always do the opposite, no matter how many different settings I try), and inspired by the dozen glorious organic, pasture-raised eggs Healthy Family Farms was kind enough to give me at the farmers market, I decided to whip up a week’s worth of meatless lunches by making a rainbow chard quiche. I was too lazy to whip up dough for the crust, so I decided to make it crustless. I did bake it in a pretty ceramic pie dish, though.

Crustless Rainbow Chard Quiche
1 head rainbow chard
7 eggs (the pasture-raised eggs I used were medium-sized; use 6 eggs if using large)
1/2 cup heavy cream plus 3/4 cup water (or 1 1/4 cup of whole milk)
1/2 cup grated pecorino
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a pie plate/pan with butter. Thoroughly wash chard, taking care to rinse off the dirt and grit that can become embedded in the folds of the leaves. Cut off stems and chop into small pieces; tear each leaf into large pieces. Heat large skillet on medium-high with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and add sliced onion and chopped stems. Cook until soft and onions are translucent, then add chard leaves and cook until just wilted. In the meantime, crack eggs into large bowl; stir in cream mixture and grated pecorino. When chard is wilted, remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Then, quickly add chard mixture to bowl, and scrape into pie plate with rubber spatula. Cook at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve room temperature or refrigerate and eat cold. Serves 4.

–Jennifer Grayson